When asked whether he had a message for a six-year-old supporter, President Barack Obama took the opportunity to describe his opponent Mitt Romney as 'a bulls***ter'.

The extraordinary comment - most mainstream media outlets decline to print such a word - came at the end of an interview with 'Rolling Stone' when Obama was asked one of the softest softball questions ever lobbed at him.

Coarse: Many newspapers wouldn't even print the word used by Obama, pictured here on the campaign trail in Richmond, Virginia

As he left the Oval Office, Eric Bates, executive editor of 'Rolling Stone', told Obama that he had asked his six-year-old if there was anything she
wanted him to say to the president and she had responded: 'Tell him: You can do it.'

According to Bates, Obama grinned and said: 'You know, kids have good instincts. They
look at the other guy and say, "Well, that's a bull***tter, I can
tell."'

I'm cool: Obama jumps down from the stage during the campaign rally at Byrd Park

All smiles: Trees in fall colors surround Obama's rally today

kissing: Most of the young students at Daughter of Zion Junior Academy in Florida understandably thought US President Barack Obama was the most interesting thing in the room as he sat down to pose for a surprise group photo yesterday.
But for a boy in the back row, it was the girl next to him that really caught his eye

Are you too young to vote? Obama cradles a baby during his tour as supporters are caught in the reflection of his speech teleprompter

Jet set: The President arrives at Richmond International Airport, Virginia on Thursday as part of his gruelling campaign whirlwind

Rock crowd: Obama, who likes to be seen as young and cool, appeared at a rally with Katy Perry last night in Las Vegas

The interview was conducted on October 11th - eight days after he had been humiliated by Romney in the first presidential debate in Denver and faced strident criticism from the Left that he had not challenged questionable statements by his opponent.

Ten days after the 'Rolling Stone' interview, Obama was decidedly more high-minded at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial dinner in New York.

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'I particularly want to thank Governor Romney for joining me, because I admire him very much as a family man and a loving father, and those are two titles that will always matter more than any political ones,' he said at the dinner.

Low blow: Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney sits and talks to a customer as he makes an unscheduled stop at First Watch cafe in Cincinnati, Ohio today

It's about jobs: Romney pounds home his message that he would create work as he speaks at Jet Machine in Cincinnati, Ohio on Thursday

Positive: Romney has not responded in kind to the personal attacks Obama has levelled at him, preferring instead to look forward

Instamitt: An artistic shot of Romney on the campaign trail using an iPhone and Instagram application

'So we may have different political perspectives, but I think -- in fact, I’m certain -- that we share the hope that the next four years will reflect the same decency and the same willingness to come together for a higher purpose that are on display this evening.'

The quotation was first reported by Politico's Mike Allen in his Playbook column.

He managed to get his hands on a copy of the magazine's forthcoming cover story, Douglas Brinkley's 'Obama and the Road Ahead'.

When he announced his candidacy in a video in February 2007, Obama called for 'a different kind of politics'. In part, his historic 2008 presidential was built around a call for more civil, bipartisan brand of politics.

But in the closing stages of a desperately close 2012 campaign, Obama is portraying Romney as a liar who cannot be trusted.

The 'bullsh**er' comment is an extension of the 'Romnesia' jibe that has become a staple of Obama's stump speech.

'Romnesia' is is the word the Obama campaign uses to describe Romney's supposed tendency to forget his past stands on issues.

Rolling Stone: Eric Bates (right) conducted the forthcoming cover interview with the President, who has appeared on the front previously (left)

In Tampa on Thursday, Obama said Romney's economic policies were the same that ones that under the Bush administration led to the great recession.

'He's hoping you won't remember ... He's hoping you're going to come down with a severe case of Romnesia just before you cast your ballot.'

Chuckling and listing the symptoms, he said: 'You can't remember what you just said last week, you start thinking Governor Romney wanted to save the auto industry, there's a sudden fuzziness about what's on your web site.'

He added, to cheers and laughter: 'Don't worry. This is a curable condition and Obamacare covers pre-existing conditions.'

Rick Santorum faced criticism when in March when he told a 'New York Times' reporter challenging him on a rope line: 'This is bull***t'. Obama supporters reacted with outrage at his language.

One stated; 'A good Christian would never speak like that.' Another said: 'I'm very disturbed about example Santorum's language is setting for our children.'

Salty language, of course, is very common in politics - among Democrats and Republicans. It may be that Obama believed his comment was off the record. It is a common practice for journalists to keep taping at the end of an interview as the interviewee relaxes and makes small talk.

When Obama achieved passage through Congress of his signature healthcare reform in March 2010, Vice President Joe Biden was picked up by a microphone saying into the president's ear: 'This is a big f***ing deal.'

The Democratic Party seized on the loose-lipped utterance as a positive, producing 'Health Reform is a BFD' t-shirts.

It remains to be seem whether the Obama campaign will start making 'Romney is a Bull***tter' merchandise int he closing days of the election.

Doting: Ann Romney, wife of Republican U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney, talks to her grandson Miles, 4, about his toy bus as they ride in their tour bus toward a campaign stop in Daytona Beach, Florida, today

Downtime: Mrs Romney sits in her hotel suite with her grandsons Parker, 6, and Miles, 4, as she watches her appearance on the Rachel Ray Show in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida today

Look at this: Mrs Romney reads a Dr. Seuss book to a group of young students at Inspirations Learning Center in Daytona Beach, Florida

Thanks Ann: Children present Mrs Romney with a thank you card after her reading

Supporting wife: Mrs Romney walks off stage after a campaign event in support of her husband in St. Augustine, Florida on Thursday

Hug: The GOP candidate's wife is embraced by a fan in the key swing state